Have you ever picked up a brochure, opened it, tried to read it, gave up and put it back because there were so many words on the page it made it you dizzy? How about lofty, $100 (Canadian) words? Ever read a brochure from cover to cover and still not know what the business was all about? Sadly, we all have.

Today, readers have the attention span of a gnat. Content (the actual words) must be lively, smart and meaningful. Because if it’s not – the reader will abandon you in a heart beat. Why won’t they give you a second chance? Because there are thousands of choices today. And people are so busy just trying to keep their heads above water, if they don’t understand your message – they’re either moving on to someone else – or they’re not making a decision at all.

Yes, there is much to tell; and yes, there is so much information customers need to know. But much of this communication should take place face to face – not in the printed word or on the web where it could be misunderstood! There is a delicate balance between writing for print and writing for the web. Your written materials are not meant to replace you or your sales people. They are meant to introduce your offerings and provide information about your company.  Here's how to know if you've crossed the line with content:

For print: 

• when you write exhaustive copy for one product or service, place it in a 3 fold brochure using an 8 point font - that's too much!
• when you have 4 pages of copy just about your company - that's too much!
• when you read the copy and you're repeating yourself to fill space - that's not too much - but it certainly isn't a creative use of the page.
• when you send your information to a buyer and expect them to be able to make a buying decision - that's too much!

For web:

• when you transfer your brochure to your website - that's not good.
• when your website isn't providing visitors with a reason to stay or come back - that's not good.
• when your website content doesn't use the key words your prospects use to search for your product or service - that's not good.

At The Art of Marketing, we’re experts at word-smithing, story-telling and weaving your marketing message through your promotion materials – whether it’s your website, brochure, infomercial, article, newsletter, letters, directory listing, scripts, communications of every kind. We’ll make sure you’re talking to your target in the language they want to hear in way that will motivate and encourage them to do something. We’ll help you balance "show" with "tell".

And you don’t have to create new marketing materials – we can simply review your existing content and point you in the right direction for next time.